How To: Roast Eggplant | Baingan Bharta

I had 20 minutes before I had to appear for an interview, 20 minutes to put my daughter to sleep, 20 minutes to prepare food and be off for the call and in those maddening 20 minutes I decided to set-up a shoot.

How To: Roast Eggplant | Baingan Bharta

It was crazy coz I was expecting V any minute home and take my case if he sees me fitting a shoot in 20 minutes. I still have Goosebumps thinking about the chaos of those minutes.

How To: Roast Eggplant | Baingan Bharta

Anyways, I was making Baingan Bharta and while roasting eggplants, I visualized how these would look in a frame and itched to shoot.

How To: Roast Eggplant | Baingan Bharta

The trick in roasting eggplants is to make sure that you do it on a slow flame and the heat is distributed for even roasting. Also while selecting the eggplant, carefully check it all over for any holes/ or marks as it could mean that the worm has eaten into it.

How To: Roast Eggplant | Baingan Bharta

Since we will be roasting and consuming without checking the insides, this is the best way to avoid worms in your bharta.

Roasting eggplant is easy and very close to the original charcoal roasting.

Ingredients

2 eggplants or aubergine, big

1 teaspoon oil

Instructions

Carefully check the eggplants for any cuts or holes and discard them for bharta. You can not use an eggplant with hole for bharta as it is a probable indication of worms.

Wash the selected eggplant thoroughly. Wipe it.

Brush the oil on the eggplant and place on a wire rack on a slow flame. Allow it to roast slowly. Keep turning it around after a while once the area in contact of flame has become tender.

In the end, the whole eggplant should be tender, the skin should be able to peel off on its own and the juices should start oozing out.

Remove from the flame and keep aside to cool down. Place it in a bowl to collect juices which are oozing. After 10 minutes, remove the peel using fingers and gently mash the roasted eggplant along with the juices.

Repeat for the second eggplant.

Now you can prepare the 'tadka' for the bharta with some chopped onions, tomatoes, green chilli and spices. Add the roasted eggplants and cook for 2-3 minutes. Serve hot with roti or parantha.

Notes:

Keep an eye for holes and discard for use in bharta if the eggplant has holes.